Definition

1. Noun:

   • Confusion, mistake, error, mix-up: The state or act of being wrong, incorrect, or mistaken; a failure to correctly understand, identify, or distinguish something.
   • Confusion, muddle: A state of disorder or unclear thinking where things are not properly distinguished.

2. Adjective:

   • Confused, mistaken, erroneous, mixed-up: Describing something that is wrong, incorrect, or based on an error in understanding or identification.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • Có một sự nhầm lẫn trong lịch trình. (There is a confusion/mix-up in the schedule.)
  • Đó hoàn toàn là một nhầm lẫn. (That was a complete mistake/error.)
  • Tôi xin lỗi vì sự nhầm lẫn này. (I apologize for this confusion.)

• Adjective (often used with "bị" or in a descriptive clause):

  • Bạn đang bị nhầm lẫn. (You are mistaken/confused.)
  • Thông tin đó là nhầm lẫn. (That information is erroneous/incorrect.)
  • Hai đứa trẻ trông rất giống nhau, dễ gây nhầm lẫn. (The two children look very similar, which can easily cause confusion / be confusing.)

Advanced Usage

• "dẫn đến nhầm lẫn" / "gây nhầm lẫn": to lead to confusion, to cause a mix-up.
  • Hướng dẫn mơ hồ sẽ dẫn đến nhầm lẫn. (Vague instructions will lead to confusion.)
• "trong cơn nhầm lẫn": in a moment of confusion.
  • Trong cơn nhầm lẫn, tôi đã đi nhầm đường. (In a moment of confusion, I took the wrong road.)
• "sửa chữa nhầm lẫn": to correct a mistake/mix-up.
  • Chúng tôi đang nỗ lực sửa chữa nhầm lẫn. (We are trying to correct the mistake.)

Variants and Related Words

• Lầm lẫn: A direct synonym, identical in meaning and usage to "nhầm lẫn".
• Lầm (verb/noun): To be wrong/mistaken; a mistake. Often used in phrases like "tôi lầm" (I was wrong), "phát hiện ra lầm lỗi" (to discover an error).
• Nhầm (verb): To make a mistake, to err, to confuse. Often used in phrases like "tôi nhầm" (I made a mistake), "nhầm người" (to mistake someone for another).
• Sai lầm (noun): Often implies a more serious error, fault, or blunder.

Synonyms

• Sai sót (noun): Error, slip, oversight.
• Hỗn độn (noun): Chaos, mess, disorder (stronger than "nhầm lẫn").
• Mơ hồ (adjective): Vague, unclear (describes the cause of confusion).

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Nhầm lẫn với: To confuse with, to mistake for.
  • Tôi thường nhầm lẫn anh ấy với anh trai của anh ấy. (I often confuse him with his brother.)
• Nhầm lẫn giữa... và...: To confuse between... and..., to mistake... for...
  • Có sự nhầm lẫn giữa hai khái niệm này. (There is confusion between these two concepts.)

Related Idioms

• "Cười trừ cho qua chuyện nhầm lẫn": To laugh it off to let the mistake/mix-up pass.
  • Thay vì tức giận, anh ấy cười trừ cho qua chuyện nhầm lẫn. (Instead of getting angry, he laughed it off to let the mistake pass.)
• "Nhầm lẫn tai hại": A disastrous/grave mistake.
  • Đó là một nhầm lẫn tai hại trong tính toán. (That was a disastrous error in calculation.)

1. như lầm lẫn